Rant: Barney Fife MuthaF#&ckers!

I’ve been told the use of profanity demostrates a lack of intelligence and creativity. So it is out of utter disgust and vexation that I resort to it in this post. Gotta get this off my chest.

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Today I managed to harness my energy for a brief visit to the site of last year’s attacks. The visit was more emotional then I’d anticipated, however, any sentimentiality I may have felt for the victims of the attacks was swiftly replaced by utter contempt for the Mumbai police. I was appalled by the lack of security at the Gate of India and near the Taj Mahal hotel.

The 1-yer annversary is only 2 days away. Anniversary attacks in India are commonplace. In fact, I wasn’t too keen on scheduling this trip during this time but wasn’t able to find suitable alternate dates. Also, it felt important to me to return to my beloved Mumbai in solidarity with my colleagues and Mumbaikars.

It’s expected that the number of tourists would be down, but it’s unfathomable that the police precense would be scaled back too. The few police officers I saw today were in typical Mumbai style, lounging about under the shade of a banyan tree seemingly without a care in the world. The sight of one officer with his rickidy-ass wooden rifle nearly sent me over the edge.

I flashed back to the gross ineptitude of the police and media professionals during the 2008 seige. So many lives were lost or jepordized due to the lack of experience of both the police and media. What’s most vexing is that the Mumbai police (and government officials) are notoriusly corrupt, always on the look out for a bribe or an opportunity to extort money. Fuck em!